CAA Playoff Pick'Em Week 1

[JMUNJ08]

Another year, another playoff season loaded with CAA teams. The conference welcomes JMU/Towson/ODU/Maine to the party after a few years off or there first trips ever! UNH is the only returning team from 2010 as they seem to have a standing reservation and chartered flight ready...

There were no real dominant teams in conference according to the skeptics so the CAA has something to prove this year. Let's get on to the first round picks with Towson/Maine/UNH receiving bye's to Round 2 on Dec. 3rd

JMU @ EKU - 12pm ESPNU
Both teams just squeaked into the postseason with a few wins down the stretch. EKU shared the OVC conference championship but lost out on the auto to TTU. JMU still hasn't quite gotten back to their top form in 2008 when they were the #1 overall seed. Seems like an odd choice for the TV game (unless JMU had actually put in a REAL bid and hosted) but should be enough to talk about with two former champs trying to become elite again. The attendance may look like Nova/W&M 2 years ago but should be a good game. JMU has their redshirt frosh QB handing the ball off to a nice stable of RB's and a more balanced attach then years past. If the D plays well and the limit TO's, this should be a nice building block for a young team.
JMU 27 - EKU 17

Norfolk St @ ODU 1:30pm ESPN3
The Tidewater area is already going nuts for this one. Game sold out on Tuesday and may be the only one in the first round. ODU has a high scoring attack and should be the best team NSU has seen in awhile after running through a competitive MEAC with only a single blemish. Due to the different styles of play, I believe ODU should be able to move the ball well against their neighbors and take this one for a CAA sweep for the weekend.
NSU 14 - ODU 30

BONUS
Albany @ Stony Brook 2pm ESPN3
Two league champs look to get to the second round in a football battle in the Northeast! Stony Brook seems to have a slight edge with the home field but this is one that is under the radar as no one sees them as a threat in round 2. But I would suspect them not to roll over. A playoff win, is a playoff win and I see the Seawolves taking a tough game.
Albany 20 - Stony Brook 24

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

Is Thorpe not playing QB for JMU? Did something happen I missed?

[Squealofthepig]

Dukes at Colonels - Gotta go with my gut and JMU on this one. I think this will be a bit more competitive than many JMU fans do, but still see the Dukes win.

NSU @ ODU - I absolutely love the attention this game is getting, and I hope many get to see a truly hopping stadium for this game (versus some of the broadcast CAA playoff games in the past). I'll take the Monarchs, as the fans seem excited and should help with the homefield advantage.

[JMUNJ08]

Is Thorpe not playing QB for JMU? Did something happen I missed?

Positive Drug test early in the season. The Redshirt Frosh has been in for since at least Richmond. I really think he could be the guy for the next 3 years too and give us an actual passing attack as well.

[JMU2004]

Positive Drug test early in the season. The Redshirt Frosh has been in for since at least Richmond. I really think he could be the guy for the next 3 years too and give us an actual passing attack as well.

Dude, where have you been? Thorpe has started the last 2 games, and will start at EKU.

Goodness!

[bluehenbillk]

ODU 34 Norfolk St 24 - Typical ODU game, they score pretty well & they let up points as well. The MEAC has been non-competitive in the playoffs for years and I don't see them winning one this Saturday either.

Dirty Dukes 28 Kentucky Colonels 16 - Let's face it, EKU doesn't belong in the field of 20. Mickey's Monkeys aren't exactly setting the world on fire either but this is a case of CAA > OVC by a decent margin. Looking forward to seeing one last cheap shot in the career of D.J. Bryant.

[md64179]

JMU by 10

ODU by 14

Stony Brook by 7

[NHwildEcat]

I don't like prediciting scores...but I will say:

JMU & ODU win.

[UIWWildthing]

JMU 31-23
ODU 35-17
Albany 28-27

[JMUNJ08]

Dude, where have you been? Thorpe has started the last 2 games, and will start at EKU.

Goodness!

I have been traveling for work the past few weeks and just getting time to see the scores not the stats xbangxxbangxxbangx

Please forgive me! There were no updates on AGS so did not know of the switch back.

[JmuSkinsfan]

I have been traveling for work the past few weeks and just getting time to see the scores not the stats xbangxxbangxxbangx

Please forgive me! There were no updates on AGS so did not know of the switch back.

LOL ... I was seriously trying to figure out if you were just waking up from a coma that you went into 3 weeks ago! Thorpe has been back for the past 2 weeks and the JMU offense has been a different machine. JMU played well with r-Fr. Jace Edwards until he injured his shoulder at the end of the Richmond game. It made him a pass-only threat, which in our offense really hurts the running game as it takes the Qb option out of the mix on the read options.

Since Thorpe's return, JMU has put up 31 and 34 points respectively. Granted, not against worldbeaters in URI and UMass, but it got the job done. JMU is a completely different animal with Thorpe at QB ... just look at the FCS results ... JMU is 5-0 against FCS competition with Thorpe and 2-3 without him.

What's in the past is in the past and Thorpe paid his price, but I think JMU beats Maine and ODU with him in the line-up. With 3 injured OL and an immobile QB, JMU's offense was absolutely one-dimensional against ODU blowing the 20-14 halftime lead. I also think JMU would have put up more than 17 in regulation against Maine. UNH was a pretty bad team game ... so it's hard to say whether or not JMU would have won that with THorpe at QB, but the offense could not get anything going after the first quarter in that game as well. If Thorpe doesn't selfishly get that suspension, I say JMU is 9-2 right now and we are talking about them as a seeded team and a favorite to win it all this year. Look out ... 7-4 teams have been dangerous the past two years. If you get hot at the right moment ... just as Nova and Georgia Southern.

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

I have been traveling for work the past few weeks and just getting time to see the scores not the stats xbangxxbangxxbangx

Please forgive me! There were no updates on AGS so did not know of the switch back.

Well damn, I am in Turkmenistan for God's sake!!! What's your excuse???? xnottalkingx xeyebrowx

xlolxxlolxxlolxxlolxxlolxxlolx

[ericsaid]

You all are taking NSU too lightly. If your predicting anything close to a 20 point win for ODU then they should be Frisco in your bracket. They will surprise like SCST. has done the past couple years against some beat up App St. teams. I think the UD-Deleware St. game a few years back has set the tone for CAA fans would think of this. NSU's lone FCS loss to Bethune-Cookman was i'm sure a slip up. Beating a SCST team who only lost to Central Michigan 21-6 should be taken into account.

I'd predict a score of around 21-31 points for ODU and a range of 10-24 points for NSU. Should be interesting. Although according to Sagarin the CAA "ain't what it once was." Still could be as good as it ever was.

[eagle07]

jmu, odu, stony

closest game i think albany and stony

[Gordon Shumway]

JMU and ODU comfortably. The only concern would be JMU on the road, but I don't think that will make the difference. I just can't see ODU losing to a MEAC team. Granted I don't see a lot of their games, but one thing stands out. The top tier teams, at least, have pretty decent skill position players. However the lines are just awful. They are mostly huge guys who run around like they are wearing cement overshoes.

[jmufan999]

Why only 1 bonus game? There are only 4 games this weekend... :)

JMU by 14+
ODU by 24+
Albany by 3
UCA by 10+

[Bam]

All hail the mighty CAA.

[jmufan999]

All hail the mighty CAA.

If either ODU or JMU loses this week, you have the right to come back and gloat. And tell me that I'm a poopy head.

[JMUNJ08]

Well damn, I am in Turkmenistan for God's sake!!! What's your excuse???? xnottalkingx xeyebrowx

xlolxxlolxxlolxxlolxxlolxxlolx

Not as good as yours would be xlolx but Omaha Nebraska which is about the same and only college football you are allowed to acknowledge is those underperforming Cornhuskers

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

You got corn, we got cotton. But otherwise, yeah, I could imagine some similarities between the Midwest US and the northern plains of Central Asia (technically, more Kazakhstan. We got a F'n desert out here covering 75% of the country). And the only football you can acknowledge out here is the Champions League. LOL

[Longhorn]

I have been traveling for work the past few weeks and just getting time to see the scores not the stats xbangxxbangxxbangx

Please forgive me! There were no updates on AGS so did not know of the switch back.

Good grief. And apparently you don't check the JMU board on CAAZONE?

[GridCaptain]

JMU and EKU all roll in these games - not remotely close on either front. Next.

[Gordon Shumway]

JMU and EKU all roll in these games - not remotely close on either front. Next.

Wait...What?

[caribbeanhen]

All hail the mighty CAA.

I am over the CAA.... we came back to earth

[jmufan999]

Forget it.

[ngineer]

Agree with the predicitions...except I'm picking Albany by a similar score. That is a game the most don't much about. I saw SBU on TV versus Lafayette early in the season and wasn't that impressed, as I thought Lafayette beat themselves more than SBU beat them. Albany has always been a well-coached team, hence I give them a slight edge.

[ekufbfan]

bluehenbillk;1732367]ODU 34 Norfolk St 24 - Typical ODU game, they score pretty well & they let up points as well. The MEAC has been non-competitive in the playoffs for years and I don't see them winning one this Saturday either.

Dirty Dukes 28 Kentucky Colonels 16 - Let's face it, EKU doesn't belong in the field of 20. Mickey's Monkeys aren't exactly setting the world on fire either but this is a case of CAA > OVC by a decent margin. Looking forward to seeing one last cheap shot in the career of D.J. Bryant.


And "let's face it" obviously neither does Delaware.